"There are any number of references to the term which suggest you are wrong. Again."

OH DEAR.

BenZ, there really are very few experiences in life that are so tragic as witnessing the smug superiority of blundering ignorance.

If you look hard enough, you will find a number of 'references' that will claim that the moon is made of blue cheese .. nevertheless, I think we can be sure that there is not a rational person alive who actually believes that it is.

Had you actually bothered to look further than the wretchedly deluded Frontpage Magazine for your purported 'references', you would have discovered that the term 'moonbat' (or "barking moonbat" if it is precisely rendered) was in fact popularised (in 2002) by Perry de Havilland (of samizdata.net .. which you will be truly embarrassed to discover is a lefty libertarian blog).

Perry de Havilland used the expression to exemplify the fact that certain subjects seem to trigger irrational reflexive responses from a range of quarters (especially – but exclusively – the American right-wing) and that (much as you have just so dexterously illustrated through your own words) these responses are evocative of watching wolves howling ineffectively at the moon.

The fact that you would really accept, as true, the ‘fact’ that your staple diet of right-wing psychosis in point of fact has the inspired astuteness to invent their very own favourite "moonbat" epithet (to be employed against anyone to the left of Attila The Hun) is far more telling of you than it is of anyone you so impotently try to rubbish.

By all means, continue to smugly use it though. You can also call the sky green and the sea purple if that's your thing.

You have to laugh when these desperate convince themselves they have access o intelligence that has somehow completely bypasses the US government.

I suspect the story that woudl be worthy of front page status, won't even rate a mention because the alleged link between Saddam and Al Qaeda has been so comprehensively debunked.

Moonbat is not usually a term ascribed to the right-wing, Andre.